Running
by cecilia.clare
Summary: Running, he had always been running. From what he didn't really know, he just knew he had to keep going.


**AN: You probably will want to read "The New Kid" before you read this because of the OC that I created in the last story for it to make sense, otherwise you might get confused. :) **

Racetrack Higgins had always been running. His body was always moving, legs pumping, and lungs breathing in and then out. He loved the feeling he got when he ran. Some people thought he ran only because he loved the feeling, and he did. Race had always been running from something. On that particular morning, he was running because he was late as usual. He ran with a big goofy grin into the square where he met up with his best friends, Jojo and Albert.

"Looks like the Racer is racing again!" Race grinned and grabbed an apple from Albert's hand.

"Few more minutes and I would have eaten that for you." Race bit into the apple and said

"That would have earned you a very interesting face Albert." Jojo smiled and said,

"Davey taught me a new word this morning!" The three boys continued to chat until they ring of Wiesel's voice echoed through the square and the three of them hopped in line. Race stood behind Blu waiting for his papers. Blu was now using a crutch, she had her leg beaten pretty bad during her time in the refuge. Blu turned around to see Race.

"Well if it isn't Race, I would challenge you but," she motioned to her leg.

"Not that you could beat me anyway!" joked Race. Blu smiled and put down her money for her papers.

"Mornin' Weasel." Race grinned at Weasel,

"Ya know I think I'll need to buy fifty of those."

"Drop the cash and move it along!" Race slammed his money down and took his papers out of Morris's hands. He waited at the gate for Jojo and Albert at the gate to the World. The three boys walked off together before Race took off running. Albert and Jojo took off after him, all the boys ran through the streets of New York playing and joking. They sold their papers together, Race stretching the truth, Jojo would tug on the heartstrings, and Albert would try to be adorable. Race didn't think Albert was adorable but all of the sappy moms who passed surely though he did. Soon all of their papers were gone and they all raced back to the square. When they arrived Blu was already there.

"How do you get done so fast!" exclaimed Jojo. Blu smiled and playfully punched him in the arm.

"I may not be able to walk so well anymore, but that doesn't mean I've lost my touch. Maybe I could give you some pointers." Jojo nodded vigorously with excitement. All the boys jokingly ran around and played while Blu watched them. Later that night the three musketeers as all the other newsies called them, headed for bed. They all shared a single makeshift bed, made of hay, old newspapers, and old clothes. They all snuggled in close together to keep warm from the cold. For a while, they stayed up whispering to each other about random stuff.

"I'm learning so many new things from Davey! Like today I learned this fancy word abundant, it means that there is a lot of something."

"That's cool Jojo, well today as we were walking I saw this funny thing in front of me today. The weird part was it looked a lot like you Race, and boy was it ugly!" Race lightly punched Albert.

"Well, I'm sure glad that you didn't try and steal my cigar today."

"That can be arranged." Albert grabbed Race's cigar out of his mouth and stuck it in his own grinning. Race pushed Albert who fell on top of Jojo. Race grabbed his cigar out of Albert's mouth and laughed.

"You're smushing me!" Jojo tried to push Albert off of him, but to no avail. Albert was a lot bigger than Jojo.

"Oh, sorry Jojo." Albert sat up and then laid down in his spot next to Race. All the boys then laid motionless as they watched the other newsies came in and laid down on their beds. Soon all three of the boys were peacefully asleep.

It was dark, all around. Race's heart pounded as he looked around trying to see anything but it was too dark. He couldn't even see his own hand in front of his face. Suddenly all the lights came on, there was a boy standing in front of him. He had shaggy blond hair, and bright blue eyes, except his eyes, were all cloudy. The boy was walking towards him and reached out his hand as if he wanted Race to take it. Race reached out his hand to grab the other boy's hand but then something grabbed the boy. The little boy started to yell. Race tried to chase after him, but something grabbed him from behind and pinned him to the wall. The whole room went dark again. Race screamed for help and started to cry, he tried to reach out a hand in the boy's direction. His hand was immediately pinned back to the wall. He felt someone touching his shoulder. He bolted upright in his bed, he backed up into the wall. He was breathing hard, he looked over to see Jack sitting by his bed, where he was just a second ago. He slid down the wall and sat down. Jack walked over to him and sat down. He put his hand on Race's shoulder.

"Where did he go, there was a boy. He wanted me to come to him." Jack put his arm around Race.

"Calm down, it was just a dream." Race leaned into Jack's shoulder eyes wide, breathing heavily.

"There as a man there too. I tried to go to the boy, but they grabbed him. Then the man pinned me to the wall." Jack sat next to Race not really knowing what to say.

"I was really scared, I think they were gonna hurt me." Jack looked out among all the sleeping newsies. Race hadn't had an episode like this in a while. Jack knew it was about Race's father, and how Race had a twin brother. Race's father would always drag the two boys apart. Usually, Race would get hurt, because his father would hurt him. Jack knew that Race had mostly forgotten about his brother because their father was always keeping them apart.

"Well, do you want to go to sleep?"

"Not really, I'm too scared." Race looked up at Jack and said,

"I'm worried about that boy, it felt like I knew him."

"Well, I think the best thing is to go back to sleep now." Race nodded, but then looked in fear at his bed.

"How about tonight instead of sleeping in that bed, you can come sleep with me in the penthouse. Race nodded, and followed Jack to the penthouse and climbed up the ladder. Jack laid down in his bed and then motioned for Race to come to lay down as well. Race crawled into bed next to Jack and put his head on top of Jack's shoulder. Race woke the next morning to the sound of someone calling his name,

"Race, it's time to get up, the bell is gonna ring soon. I'll race ya to the square if you want." Race poked his head up from the bed to see Jack smiling at him. Race got ready with Jack before they both climbed down the ladder.

"Race ya!" Race took off down the street with Jack following after him.

"Eat my dust, Kelly!" Race charged into Newsies Square, followed by a panting Jack.

"Geez… you're… fast…" wheezed Jack. Race smiled and said,

"Well, I've had a lot of practice." Race ran over and hugged Jack. Jack wrapped his arms around Race.

"Thanks for last night." Jack just held the small, brave, thirteen-year-old boy close to his chest.

"Jack, you're squishing me!" Jack let go in surprise and laughed,

"Sorry Racer." Race ran over to Jojo and Albert.

"Where did ya go Race?"

"I went to visit Jack last night."

"Ya had us worried," Jojo exclaimed.

"Well, I wasn't worried about ya!"

"You were to Albert," Jojo looked over to Race and whispered,

"He was worried." Albert rolled his eyes at Jojo and handed Race his apple. Race bit into his apple, and the three musketeers continued to joke around. They all got in line together to get their papers. They sold their papers and then came back to the square where they played until Blu convinced them to go to bed. After a ton of tired pleas, Blu led the three boys to their beds. Jojo collapsed on the bed and fell straight asleep. Blu laughed as she watched all the boys collapse and fall asleep.

This time Race was standing in front of a house. It was made of bricks and had broken windows. It was covered in ash and dust like there had been a fire there. He walked up to the house and peeked into a window. The same little boy with clouded eyes was inside the house. He also saw himself standing inside the house with the boy. Race stood there and watched himself and the boy playing together. Suddenly a big scary man came in and tore the boys apart. He watched as the cloudy-eyed boy was pulled away from him. The scary man then pinned Race against the wall. The man raised his hand to hit Race. He felt the man starting to tap him. Race woke up to Blu tapping him. He bolted up, his face was all wet from tears.

"What's wrong?"

"There was a man and he took a little boy away from me. He was gonna hit me." Blu looked at Race unsure of what to say. Instead of saying anything she buried him in a hug. She felt him breathing heavily into her arms. She sat there hugging him, she knew she had to tell Jack about this in the morning. Race finally fell asleep in her arms. She lay down on the floor next to Race's bed in case he woke up again. She fell asleep next to the three boys. The next morning she woke up to Race poking her.

"Thanks for helping me last night."

"It's no problem Race if you ever need help again just come and wake me up." Race nodded and ran over to Jojo and Albert to get ready. Blu grabbed her crutch and climbed to her feet. She walked over to the penthouse and called up for Jack.

"Jack!" She saw Crutchie peek his head over the railing and then saw Jack come to the railing as well.

"What do ya want, Blu?"

"Don't be so crabby, get your butt down here we need to talk." Jack rolled his eyes and finished buttoning his shirt. He grabbed his vest and climbed down the ladder.

"What is it?"

"Its Race, he woke up in the middle of the night." Jack stopped, Race never had an episode like this more than one night in a row. Now he was beginning to get worried.

"I told him to come and get me if he woke up again. He was talking about a man and a little boy. He said the man was about to hit him. What's he about?" Jack looked over to Blu, and said,

"When he was really little he came to the Newsies. He was maybe four. He doesn't remember much of his previous life now, but I will always remember what that scared little boy told me when he first got here. He had a twin brother and an abusive father. His brother got sick and died. Then he ran away from home to escape his father. He was brought to the Newsies by Specs. He now has these episodes where he has dreams that are really memories."

"That's awful!" Jack nodded.

"There isn't a ton we can do for him now. All we can do is comfort him."

"I'll definitely be there to help, after all, I'm closer to him that you are. I can get there faster." Jack nodded,

"But you have to promise me that if it gets real bad ya have ta come and get me."

"I promise."

"Now go get ready we got work ta do!" Blu smiled and hobbled off to go get ready. Race, Jojo, and Albert all ran into the square, except Race was stopped by Jack.

"Hurry up Race!"

"Don't worry I'll catch up, Jojo." The two boys ran off into the square,

"What do you want?"

"Blu came to talk to me this morning." Race stared at the ground and pretended not to know what Jack was talking about.

"She told me you woke up in the middle of the night again." Race continued to keep his eyes on the ground.

"She said you were talking about that boy again."

"I did wake up again, but really I'm fine. And if I wake up again I promise I'll go get Blu."

"Alright, now go on Weasel will be callin' soon." Race smiled and ran off toward his friends, but Jack knew that Race really wasn't ok, and he was beginning to get really worried.

"Ya know ya have ta tell him eventually." Jack looked over to see Blu standing next to him.

"I know, but he has already been through so much." Blu nodded,

"Did ya ever think that it might be the best thing for him." Jack looked over at Race, who was goofing around with Jojo and Albert. He looked so happy, so different from the scared little boy he had seen only two nights ago.

"I know this is hard for ya, but you need to do what's best for him."

"Well we can just wait to see how tonight goes, and then we can decide."

"Ok then, but just remember, if ya need someone to come with ya ta tell him. I'm always here."

"Thanks, Blu."

"No problem." Race made over to his friends,

"Why all the sudden talking to Jack?"

"None of your business Albert."

"Guys lets just drop it." Race focused on the ground. He really felt like he needed to run. Running was a lot easier than facing his problems. He didn't want to tell Albert and Jojo about all of this, but it was just really embarrassing. They all got their papers and ran out of the gate. The three boys wandered the streets until they got to their usual spot. They sold their papers just like every other day. As the boys were walking back to the square, Race looked at all the buildings he was passing. One house stuck out in particular, it was made of bricks and looked like it had been abandoned for a long time. All the windows were broken in and it was dark inside. Race walked away from Jojo and Albert towards the house.

"Race come on we gotta get back ta the square!"

"Yeah! Davey is gonna teach me some new words, and I don't wanna be late!" Race didn't even hear them. He just kept walking towards the house, almost like he was in a trance. He poked his head through the window. He saw the spot where he and the boy had been playing. Race felt really confused, the place he had been in was only in a dream. Except he was standing in front of the exact place where he was in in the dream. He felt someone grab his arm he yelped and jumped back in fear. It was only Jojo,

"Race… are you ok?" Race looked at Jojo and shook his head,

"Yeah, course I am!"

"You just seemed like under a spell or something."

"Well I'm back now, Jojo, so there's no need to worry." Jojo smiled and nodded his head the three boys took off running towards the square. They were late getting back the square. They all ran to the bed, collapsed laughing, and breathing heavily. The three boys all fell asleep smiling.

Race was in the dark, the only thing he could see was the motionless body of the blond haired boy. He ran over to the little boy, he nudged the boy. Race begged him to wake up, but he wouldn't. Race began to cry over the little boy but then saw himself. He was a lot younger, he looked to be about the same age as the little boy. A man started chasing his younger self, he watched himself run away crying. Race left the side of the blond-haired boy and chased after himself. Eventually, his younger self escaped the man. He continued to follow after himself, as the younger version of himself kept running. Then his younger self ran right into a small Specs. He watched as the younger Specs tried to comfort his crying younger self. He followed Specs and his four-year-old self to Newsies Square. He saw himself standing in front of a ten year Jack, and a nine-year-old Crutchie. Then the whole world went dark, and he was back by the side of the blond haired boy. He tried to wake the boy up again, and this time he opened his eyes.

"Goodbye," he whispered. Race looked down at the boy,

"Please don't go. I don't want you to leave me." The boy closed his eyes and took in his last breath…

"Please, wake up!" Race shook the boy,

"I don't want to say goodbye…" whispered Race. He sat up in bed tears streaming down his face. He crawled out of bed and tiptoed to a small room inside of the old abandoned building. He opened the door and tiptoed over to her makeshift bed. He gently shook her shoulder, whispering,

"Blu, I need help. Blu… Blu." She opened her eyes to see Race crouched over her.

"Hey, buddy, what is it?" Blu climbed into a sitting position, Race crawled next to her and rested his head on her shoulder. Blu wrapped her arm around him,

"Did you have another bad dream?" Race nodded his head, Blu rested her head on top of his,

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"Well, I saw myself. I was real little. I saw that little boy, except he wouldn't move. Then I saw myself gettin' chased by that big man. I followed after myself, my younger self finally shook the big man. I ran into Specs, but he was also real young. Then I was standin' in front of Jack and Crutchie, but I was cryin' and real scared. Then everything went dark, and I was standin' over the boy again, this time when I tried to wake em' up he did. He didn't move, but he told me goodbye. I didn't want em' to leave, I begged em' to stay. But then he stopped breathing. I was real upset." Blu pulled Race into a tighter hug.

"I felt like I knew em'. Like he was really important to me."  
"I think we need to talk to Jack in the morning." Race nodded,

"The weirdest part is, was it felt like I had gone through all of that." Blu felt bad for not telling Race, but it was not her secret to tell. It was Jack's. Blu and Race sat together on her bed, she hugged Race and didn't let go until he fell asleep. She carefully laid him on her bed. She just sat her back against the wall, and just stayed awake thinking. She woke up to Race crinkling the newspaper bed.

"Sorry," he mumbled, she laughed.

"It's ok, Race." he smiled,

"I think it's time to go talk to Jack." Race nodded and stared at the ground.

"I'm kinda scared to go." Blu wrapped her arm around Race, and said,

"Well, I'll be right there with you." Race smiled. Race followed after Blu who led him to the penthouse. Crutchie stuck his head out over the railing. Blu waved up,  
"Can you get Jack for us?" Crutchie nodded and went to get Jack. He stuck his head over the railing, and he saw Blu and Race standing at the bottom of the penthouse. Jack climbed down the ladder, as soon as he made it to the bottom he could tell something was up. Race was staring down at the ground, Blu said,

"Ya want to tell Jack what happened last night?"

"Not really." mumbled Race.

"Well do you want me to tell him?" asked Blu.

"Not really." Race continued to stare at the ground. Crutchie climbed down the ladder and stood next to Jack. Crutchie asked,

"Anything I can do to help?" Jack looked over to Crutchie and said,

"Could you give us a minute,"

"Of course, I'll meet ya at the square." Jack smiled and thanked Crutchie.

"Come on." motioned Jack, he led them up the fire escape to the roof.

"What happened last night?" Race traced a circle in the dirt on top of the roof.

"I had a bad dream again." Jack nodded,

"What was it about?" Race proceeded to tell Jack about the dream. Jack took a deep breath,

"Race, there is something I need to tell you." Blu stopped Jack and asked

"Are you sure you're ready for this and do you want any help?" Jack nodded, Blu pulled Race in closer.

"Alright Race, ya came to the newsies when you were about four. Specs brought you in, you were really scared. You were talking about a little boy, you were askin' for help. You were talkin' about your twin brother, Clouds. You said he was blind and real sick." Race looked up in surprise.

"I had a twin brother, what happened to him? Can I go see him?" Jack looked at the ground and breathed in.

"He got sick, really sick. You dragged us to your house to help him. By the time we got there… we were too late to save him. You ran over to him. You begged him not leave." Race was in shock from all the news, he leaned against Blu's shoulder. She wrapped her arm around him tighter.

"Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?"

"You had already been through a lot. You would have episodes like this from time to time, but I would just comfort you and pray you wouldn't have them again. Your father would keep you and your brother separated, your father was a lot like Snyder. He would keep you in fear by hurting you." Race just stared at the ground, quiet.

"I'm really sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I would have kept you in the dark longer if it wasn't for Blu." Race looked up at Blu who was still hugging him tightly. She smiled softly at him,

"Thanks, Blu."

"I'm really sorry Race that I didn't tell you sooner," Jack mumbled.

"It's ok Jack, I understand why you kept me in the dark about this. Can you do a favor for me?" Jack nodded,  
"Of course, anything I can do to help."

"Could you make a drawing of Clouds?" Jack nodded and pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. He looks like me, except his eyes are all cloudy, and his hair is a lot blonder than mine. Jack started sketching, soon he was finished. He handed the drawing of Clouds over to Race. He stared at the drawing and said,

"It looks just like him. Thank you." Jack smiled and nodded. Race stood up and dusted himself off. He headed down the fire escape. Blu and Jack followed after him. Jack headed to Newsies Square, Blu was following after until Race stopped her.  
"Hey, can I have a favor?" Blu nodded.

"Can you come with me somewhere?" Blu nodded,

"Of course I can lead the way." Race walked down the streets of New York with Blu following after him. He walked up to the house he used to live in. He took a deep breath, before walking up to the porch. Blu followed him up the steps and watched him open the door. The two of them walked into the house and Race walked over in front of the fireplace. He knelt down and placed the drawing of Clouds in front of the fireplace. Blu came and sat down next to him.

"I really wish I could have gotten to know him more." Blu put her arm around him,

"I know, but you also have all of your newsie brothers, plus one sister." she nudged him a little bit, and he smiled,

"Couldn't ask for a better one." the two of them sat in front of the fireplace looking at the drawing. Even though Race would never really get to know his brother, Blu was right, he had his newsie brothers and one amazing sister. Race's past would always haunt him, but now things were looking up. He would now be able to move on, to let life move on. Race would always continue to run, but now he wouldn't be running from his past anymore.


End file.
